Legislators Push for E-Verify System

State Representative John Galloway (D-Bucks) and other state legislators are urging Governor Tom Corbett to sign an executive order that would implement the E-Verify program that ensures state workers are legal citizens.

A bill authored by Galloway has sat in the legislature for some time now, mostly being held up in the Senate after overwhelming bipartisan support in the House. Representative Eugene Depasquale (D-York) says the legislature has been too slow.

“With the budget being such a primary focus of the legislature we need this executive order now. So many bills were being told, ‘Well we’re going to have to wait for the fall to deal with that, we’ve got to get through the budget.’ Well, Pennsylvania workers can’t just wait until the fall, they need this executive order now so the middle class recovery can begin in Pennsylvania.”

Galloway’s bill would not only require the verification of current and prospective state agency employees but in addition, it would require any state contracted worker to be eligible for employment through E-Verify.

“According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the state of Pennsylvania has over 140,000 employees. We have every right to expect that these are legal American workers,” Galloway says.

The E-Verify system is run by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and was recently adopted by executive order in Florida. An executive order would bypass legislative approval, but can be overturned by the next governor more easily than legislative statute. Virginia and Idaho also use the E-Verify system.

Local Group Says Economy Good in Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Regional Alliance on Tuesday released data that they say shows economic gains for the region.

Speaking at a meeting held in downtown Pittsburgh, Dennis Yablonsky of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development said there were 272 new development deals in the 10 county Southwestern Pennsylvania region that generated about $1.5 billion in capital investment. With those developments come the promise of more than 20,000 new jobs although according to Labor and Industry statistics, only 4,000 new jobs were created last year.

"The labor and industry statistics are jobs that have been created up until this point. These job numbers are projected job numbers. So when a company says we're gonna do an expansion project, we're gonna add 40 jobs and spend a million dollars in capital, those jobs may be created over the next one, two or three years," said Yablonsky.

The Regional Alliance keeps track of projected job gains from year to year but does not follow up to see if those predictions proved to be accurate.

Local Postal Jobs Open

The United State Postal Service is looking for people to fill several seasonal positions that pay between $11.00 and $17.50 and hour. Tad Kelley is the Post Office spokesperson for the Pittsburgh region. He says the $11.00 jobs involve mail processing, handling and in some cases delivery. Kelley says applicants must be 18 years old or be a high school graduate. The higher paying jobs involve driving a truck and require a Class “A” CDL. Kelley says the jobs usually run out in January and the numbers of hours per week varies.

Applications are being taken on line. Search for Pittsburgh and casual. Search Applicants will not have to take a civil service test but Kelley says they will be asked to take a drug test and will have to pass a background check.

Kelley encourages applicants to get to the website as soon as possible. “We are accepting applications right now, this will go through the end of the month of November,” says Kelley, “We really need to get people on board right away as we are seeing the Christmas mail come early this year and there are a lot of opportunities to gain hours and earn some holiday money.”

US Airways Begins Callbacks

US Airways says it will be calling back 500 crewmembers in the coming year. The airline says it will need to make the personnel moves in order to deal with planned retirements and projected attrition. Company officials say they will start by recalling employees currently on furlough and will then move on to hiring new crewmembers. The company expects to go through its entire list of flight attendants but it does not expect to get all the way through its list of pilots. The majority of the callbacks are expected to be made by July.

In a written statement, US Airways President, Scott Kirby says, "We look forward to welcoming our colleagues back to US Airways, and bringing new crew members onto the team." The company expects to grow international capacity by 8 percent n the coming year, which will also drive demand for crewmember callbacks. In all US Airways is looking to fill 420 flight attendant positions and 80 pilot positions. A spokesperson for the company says when the recall and new hire process is complete, the airline will have approximately 4,970 active pilots and 7,300 active flight attendants. The airline employs more than 31,000 individuals worldwide with hubs in Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Phoenix.

Dept. of Labor Promotes Older Workforce

This weekend marked the conclusion of National Employ Older Workers Week, an effort by the U.S. Department of Labor to promote the hiring of people 55 and older.

Experience Works administers the Senior Community Service Employment Program in Pennsylvania. The program pays older workers minimum wage for community service work as they receive skills training and job search assistance.

Experience Works Office Administrator Marcia Wilson says while the program helped more than 1,100 seniors in the past year, the need for assistance is growing beyond its scope. Wilson says age discrimination among employers is a contributing factor.

“Whether we like to admit that or not, it is there. And people oftentimes think that an older person either can’t keep up with the younger people, can’t get along with the younger people, can’t learn anything new, or don’t want to do today’s jobs. Those are all myths that we have to dispel.”

Wilson says one area where seniors have an advantage is part-time employment: combined with social security or retirement funds, seniors can thrive on multiple income streams. She says people 55 and older often take these jobs when younger workers turn them down.

Onorato Talks Economics at Pgh. Training Center

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato visited a vocational training facility in Pittsburgh today, praising the site as an important part of Pennsylvania’s economic recovery.

The Pittsburgh Job Corps is training about 350 youths in 10 vocational programs, including healthcare, energy, and maintenance. The center also helps students get college degrees from the Community Colleges of Allegheny and Butler Counties.

Onorato says sites like this are part of his four-point plan to turn around the state’s economy.

“One of those four points is making sure that our Votech schools, our community colleges, our training facilities, our four-year degree colleges, that we have curriculums that match the needs of our companies or the industries that we have today and what we expect to have tomorrow,” says Onorato. “When you see placements of 90% to 100% depending on what field here, it’s working.”

The Allegheny County Executive says he also wants to lower the corporate tax, and make the state more attractive to businesses by loosening Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Transportation regulations. He says as governor, he would try to close loopholes that allow corporations to avoid corporate taxes.

Huntington Bank To Move Downtown

185 Huntington Bancshares employees will be moved into the Grant Building next Spring. Sixty new jobs, all in the banking sector, will also be created.

Dave Hammer, Regional President of The Huntington Bank said bringing all of their employees from branches in the the suburbs and surrounding counties will make it easier to conduct business with the existing downtown businesses.

They will also open a branch at this site.

Huntington's lease will last through 2025. The company plans to continue investing money in the region.

Rob Stephany, Director of the URA, said the move will bring another anchor to downtown's renaissance.

PA's Jobless Rate Holds Steady

Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June was 9.2%, unchanged from May compared to the national rate of 9.5% last month.
The labor force, the total number of employed and those looking for work, declined by 27,000 in June. Troy Thompson, spokesman for the State Department of Labor and Industry, says the number of jobless Pennsylvanians declined by 1,000 in June, the first drop in that category in 2 and a half years. However, that decline is likely due to the decrease in the labor force with some people giving up looking for work at this time.
Thompson said in June the number of non-farm jobs dropped by 6,300 but countered that Pennsylvania has added a net 64,200 jobs in 2010. That compares to a loss of 143,300 jobs for the first half of 2009.
Thompson said the professional and business services sector added 5,400 jobs in June..."That's where you see your temporary employment agencies. That is definitely a good sign. It shows employers are testing the waters. We usually see that sector show an increase during a recovery as employers move towards being able to hire full-time workers. First they make those temporary hires."

State Funds Sought for West Penn Layoff Help

After yesterday's announcement that the West Penn Allegheny Health System will drop 1500 employees, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl says Pittsburgh and Allegheny County are teaming up with the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board to secure $500,000 in state funds. Ravenstahl says that money will be used to help transition the workers into new employment.

The mayor says he's also concerned about the reuse of some empty facilities. He says the city is committed to helping Bloomfield get through this "tough time."

"Anytime you take 1500 employees out of an area, specifically a smaller neighborhood like Bloomfield, it's going to have an impact. It's going to be tough, but they'll survive," says Ravenstahl. "It's a strong-willed neighborhood with tough people there, and we'll be there to help them along the way."

Rendell: PA Up 54,000 Jobs Since March

Governor Ed Rendell says Pennsylvania's funding efforts and federal stimulus dollars helped create the largest monthly job increase since 1996. He says 34,000 jobs were added in April while 20,000 were created in March.

While most of the job growth came in health care, education, and financial services, Rendell says it's a great sign that the manufacturing sector added 4,400 jobs.

Rendell says the unemployment rate didn't drop, staying put at 9%. That's nearly a point below the national average.